On the 30th anniversary of the “Estonia” shipwreck, President Alar Karis laid a wreath in Võru in memory of all those who drowned. He called us to keep the memory, the unbroken ribbon that connects the dead with us, and to make peace with ourselves and what happened.
“Sculptor Mati Karmin’s memorial “Estonia” with the names of the 17 wearers who died here on Seminari Square should make us all think. The hands protruding from the black granite are folded together in a prayer that such a tragedy will never happen again. But they have also been put together as a prayer that the departed find peace and that we, who were left behind, find peace as well,” the head of state said. “It is difficult after such a major accident. It’s hard to believe simple explanations because more complicated ones are more comforting. It is hard to accept that there was a storm and the ship was tired. However, on the 30th anniversary of the “Estonia” shipwreck, I invite everyone to make peace with themselves and what happened.”
At the same time, the President called to think about the memory, the unbroken ribbon of which connects those who died in “Estonia” to us, and to keep this memory. “I proudly invite you to think about the “Estonia” team, the Estonian sailors. A large part of them did what they had to do until the last moment and maybe longer – they helped the passengers of the sinking ship as much as it was still possible and thus determined themselves to stay in “Estonia”, said the head of state. He recalled that the sailors were accompanied by several passengers who gave life jackets to fellow passengers or supported them when climbing up the narrow stairs.
“I also gratefully invite to remember the Finnish sea rescue and rescue helicopter teams from different countries, as well as the ships that were in the vicinity of “Estonia” and rushed to the disaster site. That’s how 138 people were saved from the sea,” President Karis said. “Now we are smarter. Cruise ships in the Baltic Sea are safer. Sea rescue has more power. Coastal countries have a smoother cooperation. The memory of “Estonia” obliges all of us to be better in the Baltic Sea.”
The head of state recalled that many of us who listened to the news in the early morning of September 28, 1994, did not believe that it could be true – the cruise ship “Estonia” could not have sunk, the news had to be wrong. “This was hoped for in all homes, in Estonia and Sweden, but also in Finland and further afield. But the newscasters were not wrong. That night, 852 people died in the fall storm in the Baltic Sea,” President Karis spoke at the memorial moment. “For a while, the strongest feeling was complete emptiness, which buried other emotions and even grief like a tidal wave. Then came sympathy and deep sadness, which I still feel when I think about the people I knew from that doomed trip – a classmate, a neighbor and several others.”
Source: online.le.ee
